ABOUT US

Buy a new toy and you’ll smile for a day, learn to ski and you’ll smile for a lifetime!

We live by the philosophy that experiences are what create the most happiness in life, and we’re here to give you the knowledge and ability to create your own ski experiences for the rest of your life.

Our passion is skiing, and there’s nothing in the world that gives us greater joy than enabling others to enjoy doing what we love most. With dedicated ski instructors from around the world, we guarantee you a fun, safe, and unforgettable experience in a language you understand. You’ll find it much easier to learn skiing with a fluent English speaker who can articulate exactly how to adjust your center of gravity in order to direct the force vector of your skis and increase your friction against the snow surface (don’t worry, non-physicists, we adapt our teaching method to each and every skier’s learning style).

Our instructors come from the USA, Canada, Germany, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Russia, and Georgia, and all have experience teaching skiers of all ages and ability levels in English. We are familiar with Western cultures and understand the service that our students deserve. Being travelers ourselves, we appreciate the difficulties of visiting a new destination, and we’re here to help make your transition into the Georgian ski community as easy and exciting as possible!

INSTRUCTORS

Taylor

Native English – SkiingOriginally from Grinnell, Iowa, USA, Taylor learned to ski as a teenager and later became an active leader in the Claremont Colleges’ ski club. After graduating with a degree in Environmental Analysis, he completed an internship in which he discovered far greater passion for skiing than for lab work, and has been traveling to far away mountain ranges ever since. His travels have led him to Georgia for four years in a row, where he established the first 100% English-speaking ski school in Gudauri. He found his calling teaching skiing and can normally be found with skis for feet, a smile on his face, and a beard full of snow. Taylor has experience successfully instructing skiers from ages 2-72, and takes great pride in instilling a love for snow sports and mountain ecosystems in his students. He has Avalanche Safety Training Level 1 as well as First Aid and CPR.

Eva

Native Czech, Fluent English – Snowboarding & SkiingBorn and raised in Prague, Eva found her way out of the city promptly after finishing a (yet unused) Cultural Anthropology degree. Since then, she’s been roaming the world from the Alaskan mountains to Far East Russia, and spent a year in beautiful New Zealand and another in the Canadian Rockies. As a typical outdoor junkie, she loves ski touring, mountaineering, hiking, climbing, white water, and all the other fun stuff. She has an APUL level C instructor’s license for snowboarding and level D for skiing, and has spent ski seasons in Revelstoke, Canada, Wanaka, New Zealand, and Czech Republic. Apart from being a ski bum, she also works as a professional massage therapist, a volunteer yoga teacher, and a late-night bar psychologist.

Chris

Native English – Snowboarding & SkiingBorn and raised in sunny California, Chris was introduced to snowboarding 15 years ago on the slopes of Lake Tahoe. Shortly after finishing university, Chris realized that the standard office job just wasn’t for him and decided to book a one way ticket to Europe. Since then, he’s traveled around the world, snowboarding in Italy, Bulgaria, New Zealand, Japan, and even a shopping mall in Dubai. Over the last few years he’s taken on skiing as well to gain a full perspective of the different ways to get down a mountain. He’s taught countless friends and family how to successfully snowboard and is excited to extend his teaching to the masses. Three years ago he returned to Tahoe to commit himself to the ski bum lifestyle and is now migrating that lifestyle to the slopes of Gudauri. Chris is Avalanche Safety Level 1 certified with First Aid and CPR training.

Kryštof

Native Czech, Fluent English – Skiing & SnowboardingBorn in the heart of Europe, Czech Republic, Kryštof found his first snowboard under a Christmas tree 15 years ago and fell in love with it immediately. As a student of Wooden Constructions and Timber Structures, he spent a winter in northern Finland where he also began skiing. After graduating, he followed the calling of the mountains and found a love for teaching skiers and snowboarders to make their first turns. Kryštof’s other hobbies include hiking, mountaineering, climbing, xc skiing, and everything else outside. He is certified in First Aid, CPR, and has experience working as a boy scout leader and lifeguard.

Christian

Native English, Norwegian – SkiingFrom the mountain paradise of northern Norway, Christian went to an International School and completed both his Bachelor and Master’s degrees in English. As many Norwegians, he has skied since he could walk and enjoys the outdoors. Coming from far above the arctic circle, Christian is skilled in working in extreme climates and has spent a great deal of time exploring in the backcountry. Sharing his passion for skiing and helping others learning new skills is his main motivation as an instructor. In addition to skiing, Christian’s hobbies include traveling (over 50 countries in 5 continents) and mountaineering. This year, he climbed Peak Lenin (7134m) in the Pamirs. Christian is First Aid certified and is certified as a ski instructor through the Norwegian Ski School.

Dali

Native Czech, Fluent English – SkiingA passionate adventurer, Dali was born in Czech Republic but has also called Norway and Georgia home. He’s been walking since age 1, skiing since age 3, and this will be his 7th season teaching. His primary winter work is with children’s ski groups in Šumava, Czech Republic, but he spends a few weeks in Gudauri each year during Vagabond Ski School’s high season. In summers, Dali is a children’s climbing instructor, and has also worked as an English teacher in a Georgian kindergarten. He holds instructing certifications from the Czech Ministry of Sports and APUL. Dali received unbelievably positive feedback during his time in Gudauri in 2018, so we’re excited to have him back in 2019!

Natasha

Native Russian, Fluent English – Skiing & Snowboarding
Being born and raised in Far East Russia, Natasha naturally fell in love with extreme sports, beginning with skiing and followed by snowboarding and windsurfing. A journalist by profession, she has interviewed dozens of top athletes and written about nearly every sport known to man, but has not forgotten to continue practicing and teaching some of them herself. She’s been on skis for 14 years, and has worked as an instructor for four seasons in Gudauri and in Russia. Natasha finds teaching kids some of the most rewarding work in life, but is happy to teach skiers and riders of all ages.

Ellen

Native Georgian, Fluent English – SkiingEllen is known among Gudauri’s ski instructors to have an unrivaled ability to manage groups of 6 year olds. Nobody else quite understands how she does it, but her students regularly finish their lessons making perfect parallel turns with smiles on their faces. She’s been on skis for 19 years – nearly as long as she’s been walking – and is entering her third season teaching. She splits her seasons between instructing ski school groups of 45 kids in Bakuriani and doing private lessons for Vagabond Ski School in Gudauri. Ellen is fully certified by the Georgian Ski Instructor’s Association.

Tornike

Native Georgian, Fluent English – SkiingTornike attended ski school in Gudauri during his early teenage years and never looked back. He’s now entering his third season as a ski instructor and also has several years of experience teaching rock climbing. He greatly enjoys teaching kids, and is motivated by the moments of clear progress. Tornike believes that anybody can learn to ski – the main factor is one’s desire and motivation – and his positive results as an instructor prove this. He’s now a university student but splits his winters between studying psychology and teaching skiing. He is fully certified by the Georgian Ski Instructor’s Association.

Louis

Native English – Skiing Vagabond Ski & Snowboard School’s youngest instructor, 18 year old Louis was born and raised in Thames Valley, UK, and has skied all over Europe including the Alps, Finland, and Georgia. Ski instructing runs in his family, and being out in the mountains is by far his favorite thing to do, whether on or off piste. Louis has experience instructing with the Royal Air Force ATC. He likes to make his lessons as fun filled, interactive and exciting as possible for all ages and abilities. He recently completed an intensive 8-week instructor course and received BASI levels 1 and 2 alpine instructing certifications in Stubai, Austria.

Sven

Native German, Fluent English – SkiingSven, from Austria, spends a month in Gudauri every year and teaches for Vagabond Ski & Snowboard School in parallel to organizing freeride trips for his own business. After many years of skiing everywhere from Canada to India, he settled on Georgia as the place to return to. With his deep knowledge of Austrian ski schools and teaching techniques, he’s sure to have you skiing with perfect European style in no time!

James

Native English – SkiingJames was born in rural Kent, England and first learnt to ski on the slopes of Austria at age 12. After graduating with a degree in Civil Engineering, working on projects in Africa, Asia and London, he decided to combine his passions for skiing and adventure, spending seasons in Switzerland and Japan, and has enjoyed backcountry skiing in India and all over Europe. Trained in Austrian instructing methods, he now splits his time between running a wedding business in the UK in summer and sharing his love of the sport with new skiers in the winter.

Zane

Native English, Afrikaans – Skiing Emerging from the bush at 3 years old with skis strapped to his feet, Zane gained the respect of the lions and antelope when he could race down mountains faster than them. The South African left his home in search of bigger challenges, receiving his Landes 1 ski instructing certification in Austria, becoming one of the most highly qualified ski instructors from the entire African continent. Having grown up in a family-run adventure company, adrenaline runs through Zane’s veins and his passion for outdoor sports shows in his ski lessons.